This summer, members of our administrative team dedicated themselves to advancing our CDS community, ensuring that our upcoming academic year will be both innovative and impactful. After attending multiple conferences, they’ve returned to campus more prepared than ever to apply their new knowledge for the benefit of all our students.

Our Middle Years Programme Coordinator, Sabrina McCartney, Diploma Programme Coordinator, Jenna Alpert, and Assistant Head of Upper School, and former Diploma Programme Coordinator, Nancy Hsu, proudly represented CDS at the IB Global Conference in Washington, D.C. During the event, Ms. Hsu led a compelling session titled "Whole School DP: Creating Pathways for All Students to Access IB," where she discussed CDS’s Whole School IB Programme and the inclusive graduation pathways we’ve established to ensure high-quality IB education is accessible to all our learners. Ms. Hsu explains the reason why she was proud to be chosen to be a conference presenter. 

"Sharing our program with IB educators from around the globe highlights our commitment to building a community prepared and inspired to better the world." 

While Ms. Hsu presented, Ms. Alpert and Ms. McCartney engaged in sessions on critical topics such as IB Programme Updates, Artificial Intelligence, Deeper Learning, and Educator Roundtables. They returned from the conference ready to implement new strategies for enhancing our programs and curriculum.

Immediately following her return from Washington, Ms. Hsu joined our Lower, Middle, and Upper School administrative teams at the Florida Council of Independent Schools' Leadership Institute for Aspiring Administrators. There, along with attending multiple presentations, they collaborated on finalizing the goals for the upcoming school year, including achieving the earliest release of schedules in our school's history!

Also present at the conference was Dr. Chuck Maddox, Head of Middle School, who served as a panelist. The panel, consisting of educational experts, encouraged participants to reflect on their professional talents and aspirations, fostering a deeper vision for career development. Dr. Maddox shared insights from his journey into administration, offering guidance on navigating the challenges and triumphs of leadership. During the Q&A, Dr. Maddox provided thoughtful advice on implementing changes during the early years of leadership. 

"First, you have to make small changes with excellent communication and support from your faculty. As the faculty sees you making small, intentional changes, and trusts you with those, they’ll trust you with the bigger changes. Think of it like a bank account; you have to deposit small changes into your bank account until you have enough collateral to make a big change."

As we look forward to the upcoming school year, Patriot Nation is proud of the incredible work our administrative team has put in this summer. Their dedication and strategic efforts will undoubtedly lead to continued success and growth for our entire community.